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Lately I've been developing a kaleidoscope application called ScopeWorks for release on the Mac App Store.

The app takes a source image and allows you to flip and rotate the image using a variety of different kaleidoscope templates. The results can be quite striking. When you use a fractal as a source image it makes it easy to create the type of fractal kaleidoscopes I've posted here before.

Most recently, I taught ScopeWorks how to import a video feed from a connected digital video camera and use a live stream of frames from the camera as the source image for a kaleidoscope. The results can be pretty hypnotic, but not exactly fractal.

What happens if you point the camera at the kaleidoscope output, though? The results are quite striking. A frame from the camera is sliced, diced, flipped, and rotated, and projected onto the computer screen. That image (or part of it, at least) is then fed back into kaleidoscope program as the source for the next kaleidoscope. You wind up with sequences of patterns repeating on smaller and smaller scales, with varying amounts of distortion thrown in. The images warp and evolve as you watch, and the brightness of the image pulsates as the automatic gain control on the camera interacts with the feedback loop of the images.

Still images don't really do the whole process justice, but they will have to do for now. I haven't tackled saving the output from the program as a video file yet, although I intend to try.

Here is a typical sample image:


Click below to see a larger version:
http://www.pbase.com/duncanc/image/134630811/original


I've read about video feedback fractals before, but this is the first time I've tried to create them myself. As far as I know the digital kaleidoscope twist is my innovation.


Duncan

Sockratease,

While the app is still in development it's available as trial-ware.

You can download it at this link:

ScopeWork download link

I have tried simulating video feedback before with some success.  Being able to inject a live feed would be very cool.  Mutliple projectors could be simulated by feeding one simulation output into another simulation with different parameters.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/yxJ5c1CTt9s&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/yxJ5c1CTt9s&rel=1&fs=1&hd=1</a>

More info here
http://softology.com.au/videofeedback/videofeedback.htm

Jason.

This sounds like a lot of fun, wish I had a Mac so I could give it a whirl. It'd be perfect for my BrainBlinks series of experimental videos. I hope you get the video output working, I'd love to see the effect in action.